Abortion limit, voter ID await action in Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A white board hangs in an Ohio Senate staffer's office with the lines drawn through a list of 16 major policy bills.

Legislation to crack down on human trafficking, regulate gambling and update the state's budget were among the items scratched out after clearing the Republican-led Legislature heading to the governor's desk over the last seven weeks.

GOP Senate President Tom Niehaus proclaimed the effort "pretty amazing," noting that all but one of the bills had bipartisan support.

This week, lawmakers wrapped up the heart of the work they'll complete before the November election. While they've left the Statehouse for at least the summer, a handful of closely-watched proposals linger.

Here's a look at where things stand on issues not yet completed:

[Article continues below]

___

Heartbeat abortion bill:

Intensive lobbying and local attack ads on key Republican senators didn't spur action on a measure that would impose the most stringent abortion limit in the nation, all but banning abortions at the first detectable fetal heartbeat.

Niehaus said he awaits consensus between two anti-abortion groups that are at odds, Faith2Action, which brought the bill to lawmakers, and Ohio Right to Life, which has declined to endorse it out of concern it can't withstand a legal challenge.

"I've been encouraging probably for almost a year now that the two sides sit down and talk," Niehaus said. "I'm not sure that that's happened yet. I'm confident that if they do that, they are likely to find some common ground that would then allow us to look at it in the fall."

[Article continues below]

He said he was sure there were some members upset by the ads accusing them of being Republicans in name only, or "RINOs."

The bill has already cleared the House.

____

Pension reform:

Ohio House Speaker Bill Batchelder said his chamber will return to take up a package of bills aimed at shoring up Ohio's five public pension funds once an independent study of the systems is complete. The analysis, commissioned by the Ohio Retirement Study Council, is due out soon.

"I've said to my caucus we may be back, in fact we will be back, this summer," he told reporters Thursday.

The proposals include requests by the funds to raise premiums, lower payouts and tighten eligibility requirements for affected teachers, police and other public workers in order to keep funds serving 1.7 million Ohioans solvent.

The Senate has already passed five separate bills reforming state pension plans. Niehaus said his decision to fast-track the bills this spring was not an attempt to leave a legacy.

"I've had 12 years in the Legislature so my record speaks for itself," he said. "That was an issue that was right for public workers. We needed to make changes. They were long overdue."

___

The financial institution tax:

A bill originally intended to tax only traditional banks has been slowed to further understand the impacts on nontraditional entities such as insurance companies and credit institutions.

He said, "We just want to make sure that we look at this and understand the implications for each one of those entities."

The vast majority of banks would end up paying lower taxes to the state under the bill, which would create a new tax structure for financial institutions.

___

On voter ID and other election changes:

After a partisan fight over a wide-ranging bill to amend Ohio's election law, further changes appear unlikely ahead of November's election.

The election overhaul bill was passed, then repealed, by Republican lawmakers after opponents successfully pushed to get a repeal question on the fall ballot. GOP Secretary of State Jon Husted says the legislative repeal means there's no need for the ballot question.

Backers of the ballot effort have questioned whether it's legal to pull the issue, but they have not yet filed any legal protest.

Niehaus said other election reforms, such as new voter ID requirements, won't happen before the fall election -- but they could be revisited before the session ends in December.

He said he had promised the Senate's Democratic leader that he would do election reform that had bipartisan support -- measures such as allowing bulk purchasing for supplies between county boards of election and the secretary of state.

Democrats have not supported a provision requiring photo identification to be produced in order to vote.

___

School funding formula:

Gov. John Kasich's new school funding formula for Ohio is not expected until the new year, when he must introduce his second two-year budget.

Neihaus said the governor's office has traveled the state and gathered information. He said initially they had hoped to complete work on the initiative this year, but found additional work was necessary.